A Poisonous Plot (Lily Larkin Mysteries #3)

Chapter 39

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Doling out ice cream and chatting with customers should have been a pleasant distraction for Lily, but her mind kept wandering to Flynn, lying in a hospital bed. She had to keep reminding herself he was fine. He was safe in the hospital and as soon as she’d finished stuffing people with ice cream she could check on him.

“Why don’t you go and mingle?” Ted suggested as he ran the scoop through the cherry ripple chocolate. That was Flynn’s favourite and the first batch was almost all gone. After handing the ice cream over to the young woman across the counter, Ted looked at her questioningly. “Did you even hear me?”

She dragged her gaze up to him. “What did you say?”

“Sit down for five minutes. I can manage here.”

“It’s okay.” She smiled weakly. “Thanks again for helping.”

“I’m enjoying myself,” he told her happily. “You must be pleased with the turnout?”

“I am.” There were a surprising number of familiar faces, too. It seemed she knew more people on the island than she’d realised.

Her first customers had been the couple from the bed-and-breakfast where she’d stayed when she’d first come to the island. Flora and Rodney had been so enthusiastic about the ice cream shop that it had been an instant mood boost for Lily. Their gardener, Oscar, had been in with his girlfriend, too. And there was a gaggle of teenagers hanging around outside, which included Rhys and Jessica, and of course Max and Jory.

There’d also been a constant stream of Trenearys. A bunch of whom now occupied a table at the side of the room, keeping the noise level up, as they always did.

“Seriously, take a break,” Ted said. “You look as though you could do with it.”

She shook her head, worried that if she stopped and sat down, someone might ask if she was okay, which would be all it would take for her to lose control of her emotions. Keeping busy was her best bet. Another hour or two and things would wind down and she could check on Flynn. She’d feel better when she saw him and was certain he was okay.

Her gaze flicked to the edge of the room, where Dante Accardi stood in silence with his glamorous, dark-haired wife. His focus was on the strawberry cheesecake ice cream, which he was eating slowly from the cone.

Glancing up, he caught her watching him.

“We have a problem,” he said, taking a few steps towards her.

Her stomach churned in response to his grave expression. “What?” she asked nervously, certain she wasn’t emotionally stable enough to take negative feedback.

“It’s good,” he said, raising his cone slightly.

“Yeah?” She waited for the but. There was definitely going to be a but.

“I don’t need to teach you anything.” He shook his head and took another bite.

“Excuse me?” Lily said, wishing he’d stop talking in riddles.

“I promised to teach you about gelato if you helped me, but you don’t need my help. It’s not gelato like in Italy, but it’s… special.”

“Thank you,” she said, while her heart settled back to a more regular rhythm.

“You helped me,” he said, strolling over to the counter. “You found the person who sabotaged me. How will I repay you?”

She blew out a breath. “Cash would be fine,” she said, making Ted chuckle beside her.

Dante waved a hand as though batting the suggestion away. “Come in the restaurant sometime and I’ll make you dinner. Free of charge.”

“That would be nice.”

“Bring your boyfriend,” he added.

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“The policeman,” Dante said, as though maybe it had just slipped her mind.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” She didn’t have to glance at Ted to know he was grinning.

Dante shrugged. “Bring him anyway.”

“Thank you,” Lily said. “I’ll take you up on that.”

“I’ll see you soon,” he said, reaching for his wife’s hand and leading her to the door where Denzel was just walking in.

His eyes did a quick sweep of the room as he walked to the counter. Lily caught his gaze lingering on Mirren for an extra second.

“Hey,” Lily said. “How are you?”

“Not too bad.” His eyebrows twitched together. “I heard about Gordon and everything.”

“Crazy, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. I’ve been with Sally most of the day.”

“How’s she doing?”

“Hard to say. She’s struggling to get her head around it all, but she’s resilient. I’m sure she’ll be okay.”

“I hope so.” She glanced at the ice cream selection. “You said you like banana, right?”

“Yeah.”

Lily was preparing him a cone of banana and hazelnut when Mirren strode over to join him at the counter. Sneaking an arm around his waist, she leaned in and planted a quick peck on his lips.

“What are you doing?” he asked, glancing nervously over her shoulder.

“It’s all right,” she whispered. “They know.”

Not sure whether it was supposed to be a private conversation, Lily took her time pressing the scoop of ice cream firmly onto the cone.

“What do you mean, they know?” Denzel asked in a panic.

“I told them about us,” Mirren said.

“All of them?”

“Yes.”

Disbelief flashed in Denzel’s eyes.

“It’s all right,” Mirren said. “It turns out that Trystan and Noah already suspected. Apparently, we weren’t as sneaky as we thought – they’ve seen you coming and going from the house.”

Denzel groaned.

“They’d mentioned it to Lowen, so he wasn’t surprised either.”

“Oh my gosh,” Denzel muttered, scrubbing a hand over his face.

“They’re fine with it. Jago said he was happy for me.”

“And Kit?” Denzel whispered.

“Kit was surprised.” Her smile slipped then. “He hasn’t said much, but I’m sure he’ll be fine once he gets used to the idea.”

“Sorry,” Lily said, unable to hang back with the ice cream any longer.

Denzel muttered his thanks and she waved him away when he tried to pay.

“I thought you’d be pleased,” Mirren said, apparently not concerned about Lily overhearing the conversation. “You wanted me to tell them.”

“Yes, but they’re all here.” His jaw was tight as he glanced over at the Trenearys, who were chatting loudly. “I feel a little blind-sided.”

“They are a little intimidating,” Lily said, feeling a jolt of sympathy for Denzel.

“My boys?” Mirren said, eyes widening.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Lily said. “I think they’re all lovely, but you have a big family. When they’re all together, they can be a bit…” She glanced over at the crowd of them and felt another burst of sympathy for Denzel. “It can be overwhelming to be around all of them,” she finished.

“Exactly,” Denzel said, then licked at his ice cream when it began to drip down the cone. “Can I just go home?” he asked Mirren sheepishly.

“No.” She took his hand and led him away.

Lily wasn’t sure if she imagined the hush that fell over the shop as the two of them approached the rest of the Trenearys. It was only momentary, and then the chatting recommenced, and there was some shuffling around as they made space for Denzel.

“What was that all about?” Ted asked, appearing beside Lily.

She smiled. “What did it look like?”

“Mirren and Denzel?” he asked, wide-eyed.

“Yep.”

“Wow.” Ted stared across the room for a moment. “Good for them,” he said after a moment, then smiled at a woman walking up to the counter.

Lily’s eyes roamed the ice cream counter. “I’ll grab another tub of cherry ripple from the back,” she told Ted, who’d already taken over with serving the customer.

Away from the bustle of the shop, her mind strayed to Flynn. A wave of exhaustion had her stopping with her hand on the freezer door. She inhaled deeply and gave herself a mental talking to. She just needed to get through the next couple of hours without falling apart. That was all.

After a few deep breaths, her shoulders relaxed somewhat, but she still felt far too tightly wound.

“Good call on getting Ted to do all the work,” a soft voice said.

“You’re supposed to be in the hospital,” she snapped as she swung around. Her breath hitched at the sight of Flynn looking dishevelled and deathly pale.

“I figured a trip to the ice cream shop wouldn’t kill me.”

“Maybe not, but I might.” She crossed the room and tilted her head. “You look like death. What on earth possessed you to leave the hospital?”

“I promised you moral support. And you know I don’t like to miss out on your little adventures.”

“Do you feel as bad as you look?” she asked.

He shrugged and his solemn gaze bored into her. “Do you? ”

“I’m fine,” she insisted, but tears filled her eyes.

Flynn’s arms wrapped around her and she sank into his embrace. With her face nestled against his neck, she inhaled the scent of him and felt her tense muscles relax.

“I was so bloody worried about you,” she mumbled against his skin.

He kissed the top of her head. “It was only a scratch.”

Stepping back, she wiped stray tears from the corners of her eyes. “You look as though you might be about to pass out.”

“It’s a definite possibility. The doctor really wasn’t joking about the lethargy. I feel as though I could sleep for a week.”

She touched his cheek and looked at him sternly. “You are such a pain in the bum sometimes. I’m opening a shop today and you want me to play nursemaid too?”

“Moral support,” he whispered, then swayed as though he might seriously be about to collapse.

Lily kept a hold of his arm but stepped towards the doorway and scanned the crowd of Trenearys before calling out to Jago.

His head whipped in her direction and she beckoned him with a flick of her hand.

“What have I done?” he asked, grimacing as he walked into the back room.

“Nothing.”

“Why are you scowling at me, then?”

“My scowl is directed at this idiot.” She moved closer to Flynn, who was definitely swaying.

Jago smiled. “I thought you were still in the hospital.”

“I got bored,” Flynn told him.

“Can you do me a favour and help him upstairs?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” Flynn argued, but stumbled when he took a step. Jago moved quickly and took hold of his arm.

“Put him in my bed,” Lily said. “He’s not supposed to be up and about.”

“I can manage to get upstairs,” Flynn said, but looked dubiously at the staircase in the corner.

“Do you know how annoyed I’ll be if you collapse and fall down the stairs while I have a shop full of people to deal with?” Lily resumed scowling at him. “Just let Jago help you.”

“Fine, but I’ll only sleep for an hour, then I’ll come and help you.”

“Sure you will,” Lily said while Jago ushered him towards the stairs.

A smile pulled at Lily’s lips as she watched them go.

At the top of the stairs, Jago said something Lily couldn’t make out, but whatever it was made Flynn laugh. The sound made Lily’s stomach flutter with butterflies.

He’s going to leave in a few months, she reminded herself, but knew that there was nothing she could do to keep from getting too attached.

She was certain she was already doomed to get her heart broken by PC Flynn Grainger.

“Lily!” Seren called, snapping her from her trance. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said, smiling as she turned to her friend.

Doomed, but fine.